Mixed report on IRS technology
Kablenet.com
Published: 06 Aug 2004 15:05 BST
A mixed picture has emerged the annual report by the Oversight Board of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), published on 2 August, 2004.
It expresses optimism about the general progress of the $1.7bn (£0.92bn) programme, but points to delays and cost overruns and calls for an effort to solve the problems.
Board chair Nancy Killefer commented: "This past year was marked by real progress. Customer service continued to rack up significant gains in areas such as telephone service and new Web-based applications. But we must not be complacent. The IRS should commit to maintaining this upward momentum."
The IRS Oversight Board's report highlights some of the problems the service faced over the last year with its $1.7bn modernisation programme. One area particularly suffering was the Customer Account Data Engine (CADE), a database system planned to replace the tape based technology that officials still use.
In reports earlier this year, CADE was found to be $37m over budget and 30 months late.
Business transformation committee chairman Larry Levitan said the IRS has made a small improvement but there is much more work ahead. He said that the modernisation programme and its consortium of suppliers "did not acquit themselves well last year."
"Slippages in programme delivery and cost overruns continued to plague the programme," he said.
"However, new controls and management processes have been implemented which we hope will remedy what ails modernisation. And we're seeing some progress. Recently, the critical Customer Account Data Engine project successfully processed a small number of (tax) returns. It's a good start, but no one is breaking out the champagne. There's much hard work ahead that holds great rewards but also great risk."
The report remains critical of the IRS's main IT contractors. The service is supplied by a consortium which is led by CSC and includes IBM, Northrop Grumman, SAIC, BearingPoint and Unisys.
The Oversight Board says the group has failed in its "primary responsibility of serving as a trusted adviser and partner to the IRS in managing the programme."
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